The Iranian Cloud

Celebrating Sukkot on the brink of a nuclear Iran.

As I look up to the sky from my home in central Israel, I take careful notice of the clouds. Not just because I’m living outdoors during the week of Sukkot and want to gauge the weather. But because I’m thinking of something far more existential: the Mushroom Cloud.

Iran is in a race for nuclear weapons. Enriched uranium from thousands of centrifuges has been moved into underground bunkers at Fordow. Iran’s Shahab-3 missile, with a range of 1,200 miles, has been successfully tested. Iranian teams are working to assemble the component parts of a nuclear bomb: trigger devices, missile casings, and delivery systems. This is no “peaceful electricity project.”

Iran’s primary target is Israel. Whether it’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s repeated threat to “wipe Israel off the map,” or the Supreme Ayatollah calling Israel “a cancerous tumor which must be removed,” or Iran’s top military commander Hassan Firouzabadi projecting “the full annihilation of the Zionist regime,” 6 million Jews in Israel are clearly under mortal threat. Just last week, Ahmadinejad reiterated these genocidal intentions in the “hallowed halls” of the UN.

The pressure here is enormous. Eighty percent of Israel’s population resides in the center of the country, an area the size of suburban Chicago. This could all be destroyed with one bomb.

None of us can truly imagine the horror of what would be unleashed. Nuclear bombs today are a thousand times more powerful than the ones dropped over Japan. And for Jews who have already suffered one recent Holocaust, this is no mere rhetoric.

The warning of Eli Weisel rings in my head: “We have learned to take the enemy’s words of hate seriously.”

Illusion of Security

Whenever I speak to friends in the States, they ask: “Are you afraid?”

My answer: Concerned – yes. Afraid – no.

Which is not to say that things here are all doom and gloom. A new survey by the Israel Democracy Institute shows that more than three-quarters of Israelis are optimistic about their country’s future. Still, I updated my family's gas masks and have stocked up on canned goods and bottled water. When I mention it to my friends, most agree it’s a good idea (and frankly, I think those who don’t are in denial).

But no, I’m not afraid of the Iranian Mushroom Cloud. Because I’m tapped into a far more potent Force: the Clouds of Glory, the Ananay haKavod. During the Israelites' 40-year sojourn in the desert, the Manna provided food, the Well provided water, and the Clouds offered 24/7 protection from the elements and enemies – a vital benefit for Jews camping out in flimsy sukkah-huts.

Back then, the miracle of God’s protection was open and revealed.

This miracle is not forgotten. Every year on the holiday of Sukkot, we venture outside the comfort of our homes and dwell in our own flimsy backyard hut.This is not mere theoretics or symbolic lip-service. For seven days, we treat the sukkah as our full-fledged dwelling: eating, studying, entertaining and even sleeping in the sukkah. In doing so, we return to that miraculous state of protection which nurtured the Jewish nation during its vital period of infancy.

Yet there is one crucial difference: Back then, the miracle of God’s protection was open and revealed.

Today, we have to work much harder to attain what the kabbalists term,Tzila d’Hemnusa – the “Shelter of Faith.”

This is not an easy task. In the old days, people were much more in tune with the natural spiritual rhythms. Harvest season and reliance on rain instilled gratitude for the Creator of all life. Roaming bandits and violent kings gave an appreciation for the passing of every peaceful day.

Today it is much harder to click in. Food is plentiful year-round and nobody needs to look Heavenward to see what the clouds foretell. News, shopping and friends are all one click away, enjoyed while sitting in a climate-controlled home with steel-reinforced roof and security gate out front – all protected by the institutions of democracy.

This illusion of security is what Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller terms "the most damaging illusion that blocks our inner eye from seeing God's presence."

This is precisely what the sukkah comes to correct. We leave our bricks-and-mortar homes in order to experience vulnerability, to train ourselves to find another, more permanent and dependable source of security. It is what Rabbi Akiva Tatz calls "an exercise in ego negation," working to build faith in the spiritual Source and not in the material domain of man's control.

To this end, we give ourselves over to total immersion – enveloped by the sukkah’s walls, mindful of the Almighty’s cradling arms.

Miraculous Force

Nowehere is this message more crucial than in Israel. Over the past 70 years, Israel has numerous times appeared on the brink of annihilation, with the Rabbinate distributing supplies of burial shrouds throughout the country and preparing to convert public parks into mass gravesites. Yet when all seems hopeless, that same miraculous Force always seems to intervene:

In 1942, Nazi forces led by Rommel, en route to slaughter all the Jews in Israel, were stopped at El-Alamein in Egypt. A massive sandstorm mucked up Rommel's tanks and led his troops blindly into enemy defenses.

In 1948, with no planes and only three tanks, the rag-tag Israeli militia staved off attempted annihilation by seven invading Arab armies.

In 1967, again on the verge of annihilation by the three-front aggression of Egypt, Syria and Jordan, Israel scored a lightning-swift victory in the Six Day War – returning historic Jerusalem to Jewish hands.

In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Egypt and Syria broke through Israeli defenses and threatened to overrun the population centers, U.S. President Richard Nixon – embroiled in the Watergate scandal and thus with nothing to lose politically – quickly ordered the largest resupply effort in history, airlifting to Israel tons of ammunition, tanks and aircraft.

During the 1991 Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein’s Scud missiles scored direct hits on Israeli apartment buildings, there was nearly no loss of life.

We acknowledge the tireless efforts of Israeli diplomats and IDF soldiers to protect our borders and promote our case. Our physical response is, of course, equally necessary. But we also recognize that redemption from the vise grip of Iran is ultimately not dependent on political strategy or military might. As David Ben Gurion, Israeli’s founding father and by no measure an observant Jew, famously said: “In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.”

The Torah says that for the Jews in Egypt, it wasn't until "We cried out to God, that He heard our voice and saw our affliction" (Deut. 26:6-9). We had to hit rock-bottom, to see there was no other option but to turn to God. At that moment, redemption was under way.

That is the purpose of Sukkot – to reach the point where we recognize that the Almighty is our only option. It is our personal mission and our national imperative.

Taking Action

Yet this does not mean we are to rely on miracles.

God put us into a world of action, where we are to make an effort to affect positive change. Not because He needs it, but because we need to create a change within us and around us. This is the idea of world repairs – tikkun olam – the bedrock principle of Judaism.

So what can we do? It is surely impractical to parachute into Iran and perform covert acts of sabotage. But there is much that we can do. We can lobby representatives in Congress, write op-ed pieces for local newspapers, and work to fight anti-Israel bias. For example, the folks at Hasbara Fellowships mobilized American college students to protest Ahmadinejad’s appearance last week at the United Nations (#UNwelcome). If you have more ideas, share them in the comments section below and let’s get a discussion going.

We are expected to make the effort, yet the results are totally in God’s hands.

On the other hand, we must be totally clear that our efforts do not make or break the final outcome. In the words of the Talmud (Avot 2:21): “It is not up to you to complete the task, but neither are you exempt from trying.” Thus the classic Jewish anomaly: We are expected to make the effort, yet the results are totally in God’s hands.

That is the path we are headed down today. I am concerned that we are not waking up to the threat. A Hitler-wannabe visits New York, makes his intentions plain, on Yom Kippur no less, and where are the protests? Where is the outrage? If this isn’t a wake-up call, what is?

The issue is our very existence. Israel is a tiny country, surrounded by a sea of 250 million Arabs, possessing 640 times greater land mass with great oil reserves. Muslim fundamentalists are calling for jihad – a holy war to forcibly remove the infidels from the land.

Indeed, Zechariah chapter 14 speaks of the fateful War of Gog and Magog, when the entire world will descend upon Jerusalem and try to expel the Jews. Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, a 16th century kabbalist, wrote:

All the nations will unite together against Jerusalem, for they shall make a peace treaty among themselves to turn against Israel and annihilate her, because Israel will have established a sovereign state for themselves. It will be "a time of crisis for Jacob [Israel]," but they shall not be broken, rather, "they shall be saved from it."

Israel is merely the first target, not the only one. The virulent Iranian strain of Twelver Islam seeks nothing less than a global revolution dictated by full Sharia law.

Yet I believe there is no need to fear. To where shall we run?

Mysterious Foundation

We’ve just completed the High Holidays, the annual opportunity to gain clarity on what we are living for, what is our plan for getting there, and how to best transform ourselves in order to fulfill that dream.

If we haven’t woken up yet, there is still time. As is well-known, our fate for the coming year is written on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur. What is less well-known is that the document is not “delivered,” so to speak, until the seventh day of Sukkot – Hoshana Rabba – which is the final sealing of judgment that began on Rosh Hashanah.

What is the answer? While we must make reasonable efforts in the area of Homeland Security, that’s not enough anymore. As Yonason Goldson wrote on these pages, we cannot imagine the design and the reach of evil. We can make our best effort, ensconce ourselves in thick walls, but we will never be completely safe. The world is too unpredictable an arena, the mind of the wicked too dark a cavern.

Professor Nicholai Berdysev, writing in Moscow in 1935, described the apparent key to Jewish survival:

“[Jewish] destiny is too imbued with the "metaphysical" to be explained either in material or positive historical terms... The survival of the Jews, their resistance to destruction, their endurance under absolutely peculiar conditions and the fateful role played by them in history; all these point to the particular and mysterious foundations of their destiny.”

Today, that “mysterious foundation of Jewish destiny” is more crucial than ever, and the mitzvah of sukkah is more relevant than ever before.The Midrash says that following the Clouds of Glory is a "mitzvah for all generations." Every single Jew, both collectively and individually, has a Cloud that emerges to guide him.

Yet we need to search for our Cloud. The very nature of a cloud is ethereal, beyond our grasp, beyond our understanding. So too, the Almighty intentionally does not reveal Himself too clearly, so that we can gain the merit of seeking Him and choosing. It may not always be easy to find, but it definitely does exist.

As we look up at the flimsy thatched roof, the vast expanse of stars offer a glimpse of the infinite power of God. And as the winds of autumn blow through our sukkah, we may shiver with cold but never with fear.

Featured at Aish.com:

About the Author

Rabbi Shraga Simmons is the co-founder of Aish.com, and co-author of "48 Ways to Wisdom" (ArtScroll). He is Founder and Director of Aish.com's advanced learning site. He is co-founder of HonestReporting.com, and author of "David & Goliath", the definitive account of anti-Israel media bias. Originally from Buffalo, New York, he holds a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and rabbinic ordination from the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. He lives with his wife and children in the Modi'in region of Israel.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 40

(30)
Eliyahu,
October 21, 2012 9:34 AM

Aish-inspired novel about Sukkot war

I share your concerns. If you would like to read an Aish-inspired novel describing what the next middle east war might be like, if Iran gets the bomb, see "Golan" by Edward (Eliyahu) Truitt - available on Amazon and Kindle. A chilling, but inspiring read.

(29)
Freyda,
October 11, 2012 6:30 AM

What are we going to do about it?

Rabbi Simmons, you asked people to post ideas about combating the threat. Yes, it's all in Hashem's hands, but we need to do our hishtadlut. In your words, "We are expected to make the effort, yet the results are totally in God's hands."
Is this call for action specifically aimed at the United States? Or can we organize a public event to bring the reality home to our people here in Israel? Will anyone attend? Will anyone take notice? Will the media take notice? Will it help? Is it considered doing our hishtadlut?

(28)
Stephane luako Lombo,
October 9, 2012 2:54 PM

Iran nuclear threat

Iran acquiring nuclear weapon is a serious issue.Better Prevention then cure:Israel security and military should prevent by all means Iran to realise its nuclear dream.But restrain and much caution is advised.Saddam was desperate to get Isarael to react during the first gulf war so he can create a domino effect.Saddam is no longer.

(27)
ruth housman,
October 5, 2012 1:51 PM

Hey, you get off of my cloud!

This is beautiful. I would say, there is a Water Gate, as in the beauty of words, and even at a time of deception, there was as you say, and opening, that helped Israel. For me the water gate was a mystical very Jewish experience, in seeing the Hebrew letters made of water from the rains, shining in the moonlight, after a class on Kabbalah, and it was shared with a friend, the experience. The others had long gone, and it was deep, and profound, and that One experience has dominated the rest of my life.
You are right, about God, about how we are doing this together, and that how we must ACT, to effect change, and every single one of us, has a holy task that is deeplya bout tikkun OLAM. I put this in caps because my computer insists on writing "loam", and yet surely SOD in Hebrew is loam, is the soil, out of which things do grow, as in the hidden face of God.
I am follwoing a language based story, and see the deep and ongoing metaphoric and language connects that do contain a story only God could have written, that does involve us all. And as "does" is to deer, is to dear, so it is, there is a sensitivity of soul that informs this dialogue, that should be, always, about LOVE.

(26)
Mark Shane,
October 5, 2012 10:05 AM

never again,never forget

our god seems mercurial(as we are too) in his care & concern for us(remember 6 million died). We may recall the words:god helps those who help themselves(meaning group help not ego help).Somewhere there must be a balance between faith and defensive efforts. I like speak softly(& lovingly) but carry a big stick.That way if he screws us again, we go down fighting.

(25)
Lisa,
October 5, 2012 1:07 AM

Iran is real

An article we all need to read & internalize!!

Louis,
October 6, 2012 4:22 PM

Rabbi Simmons has it right.

Israel is surrounded by overwhelming forces, but none too great for our God. The rabbi's understanding of Sukkot is profound. Zecharia 14 will soon be fulfilled & the world peace described in Isaiah 2 will become a reality.

(24)
alan,
October 4, 2012 12:58 PM

disapointing

can't we all get along?
can't we just resolve this once and for all?
why can't israel be regarded by ALL as another country in the world?
whatever happened to the torah idea of loving your enemy?
can't we send mahmoud flowers? can't we celebrate what makes us similar than highlighting our differences?
having this threat over our heads in 2012 is not acceptable.
we are all better than all this.
i've had enough of hearing about being strong against iran.
i think we all know if everybody wanted peace we'd have it with zero threats to our safety. the leader of iran and his rheteric would disintegrate and so too would the strong words of bibi.
clearly not everyone does want peace which is why we have to endure the fear in this article about iran and throughout the media.
SO disappointing.
please g-d may your children grow up man up and all grow balls big enough to think beyond child-like games like this.

Anonymous,
October 5, 2012 4:28 PM

2 answers

Please continue your prayers, but also,
use clear-eyed vision to see the way things are
at this time. We have to deal with what is,
not what we wish it was.

(23)
Amnon,
October 3, 2012 5:08 PM

PURIM 5773 is blessed

We hope this coming פוּרים Purim Holidays, will be more joyous by the failure of the last המןHAMÅN to eradicate Yisrael from Israel...

(22)
Carl Pozyck,
October 3, 2012 10:29 AM

Rejoicing and Teshuvah

2 things about this article bother me: 1) I am annoyed at all the negativity, not only in articles like this, but the rehashing of negative events during Sukkot, taking away from the rejoicing that we are supposed to celebrate during this festival. 2) The main message right now needs to be of teshuvah for the citizens of Israel. God promises us that, when the people of the land make teshuvah, He will give us shalom. Stop crying out for diplomacy or worldly solutions. Return to God, and He will fight the battle. His promise to us is that the battle is not ours, but His.

Sarah,
October 6, 2012 11:59 PM

Well Said

Well Said! When will the Israelis learn?

(21)
Joey,
October 3, 2012 6:02 AM

Thank you for your fascinating words and insights, and may God bless you and your loved ones through these uncertainties.

(20)
Anonymous,
October 3, 2012 4:32 AM

UtterTrust

This is another inconceivable threat to Jews everywhere. Somehow, while I am profoundly concerned, I also know that the the threat is that the human family,once again chooses to avert "fat overfed cheeks," to the other side, and abandon any moral currency to the forces of nihilistic anti-human anti-life individuals. Again, as in centuries past (repeatedly), people ignore, or (a personal utter horror) join the deadly, vacant souls and attempt to destroy what is most Holy in the world and the keepers of that Holiness - the Jewish People.
What is mystifying is do other traditions not have "other matters" to occupy their spiritual lives?? How dare a mere human think for even a second that They have the right to MURDER, Annihilate, amongst humans??
Hope that G-d listens to our Heartfelt prayers.

(19)
Jan Ciprys,
October 2, 2012 9:36 PM

Thank you for this article.

All is in the our hands . We/not only in Israel/ need to choose good and lift upTorah in our lives every day and than cry out to our G-d.Than He will give us victory and peace.

(18)
Anonymous,
October 2, 2012 2:32 PM

Response to article and comments

The comments and article are deeply offensive, humiliating. First, let me tell you I normally would never respond to craziness, and this article and the comments are loaded with Mishugat. The article suggests Tikun Olam through openly creating more conflict with a nuclear power, Iran. Do you remember the second paragraph of Shema, where we are required to remember everything is meant to be and what we put out comes back. Well, I suggest a nuclear freeze zone for this World. The Jewish leaders in this World can remember the recent nuclear attrocities in Japan (Fukushima, Hiroshima, Nagasaki) and America (3 Mile Island), and help Tikun Olam by promoting the end of Big Oil (and the death they have caused in this World, especiallly in the Gulf) and International Nuclear Freeze Zones (at least until there's clean nuclear technology, and all the international nuclear waste and pollution is cleaned up and offset). Renewable energy sources (solar, wind) are the future. Big Oil and current Nuclear Energy must be stopped at all costs, it kills the planet and it's inhabitants. We all need to awaken the higher consciousnesses in all of humanity to cherish this World, instead of polluting and killing.

(17)
Sharon,
October 1, 2012 8:18 PM

thanks

I can't remember hearing about the 1942 sandstorm that saved the Jews of Palestine from Nazi destruction. I pray that now like then the Jews of Israel will be saved by miracles strengthening our faith.

(16)
Patrick Loveless,
October 1, 2012 7:50 PM

Use of your ultimate force

I am just a semi-informed Christian. In my arm chair opinion, Israel must use their ultimate weapon to destroy Iran before Iran can wipe out the people of Israel. I don't think Israel can afford to rely on conventional bombs to do the job. Glory to Israel!

(15)
Anonymous,
October 1, 2012 9:24 AM

Speech on Yom Kippur

The 613 mitzvot create the cloud of security around Israel. Israel exists for the Torah and as long as Israel is connected to HaShem through Torah, it's protection is FULLY guaranteed. When Israel as a nation strays far from Torah, then come the warnings from HaShem to show how vulnerable Israel's hold is on the land. On Yom Kippur 1973 Israel was nearly anihilated as a nation when Egypt attacked. It was Ha Shem's call to repentence on Yom Kippur. The initifada is also only G-d's voice calling to teshuva. First came the rocks, then pistols, then suicide bombers, each time Israel refused to make teshuva the call got loader. Israel lost the Sinai, then Gaza, now Israel's grip on Judea and Samaria is slipping G-d forbid, and Israel is losing its land piece by piece ........ now G-d uses a shaliach (Ahmadinejad) on YOM KIPPUR, to call Israel back to Teshuva. The threats of Ahmadinejad are nothing more than the voice of HaShem calling to Teshuva. In the days of Esther and Mordechai, there was KHaMaN. Now there is KHaMeNei. In those days Jews made Teshuva and returned and G-d took away the Dinim. There is still time to make teshuva and return to the mitzvot. If every man in Israel will put on tefilin within 5773, Ahmadinejad and Hamas would vanish like a dream, and disappear like an anecdote in history. Will Israel listen ?

(14)
william sanderson,
September 30, 2012 7:17 PM

Shraga's Iranian article is prophetic...

This is the best article yet - a call to our immediate
danger from Iran. All Jews must heed this threat, as it
is real...

A beautiful and enlightening piece. May the force of hashem protect Israel and our people.

(11)
Yechiel,
September 30, 2012 1:08 AM

consequences

Do not these Arabs in and around Israel realize that if the Iranian mad man carries out his threat, they are just as dead?

In the USA,
October 1, 2012 8:20 PM

They don't care if other Arabs die too.

The reason they don't care if they wipe out all the other Arabs is as follows:
1.) They figure a lot of the Arabs are Christians, so good riddance to them too.
2.) If Moslem Arabs die, then they are martyrs, so no big deal. Also, if Moslems don't leave the Jewish lands and get killed, then it serves them right.
3.) The plastic phony idea of the miraculous and Eden-like "Palestine" is a con perpetrated by Moslem leadership for so long, that to admit the whole idea is just a political tool endangers their leadership. Follow the money.
4.) Life is cheap to Moslems, so if everyone is wiped out in Israel and even Palestine, they will change the mime to "it was allah's will" and take over the land and repopulate it, they figure. So it's okay if everyone dies. They killed Jews and that's what counts.
5.) Someone, somewhere, has to do something more than 911 (whether or not it actually happened), or they are all emasculated. One is to cause serious damage to the USA, and thus, they figure, remove Israel's protection and get to Israel as soon as possible to annihilate it, and the other is to just go ahead and deal with Israel and whatever aftermath comes from the USA.
Lots of this depends on the IQs of the Arabs. Smart Arabs would know they're already dead and don't want to live in Moslem-ruled countries anyway, so they are not for it. Arabs of less intelligence are living in the fantasy realm of a restored "Garden of Paradise" of a mythical "Palestine" and have bought the story.
So the Moslem world is somewhat confused. One this is certain. Not many of the Arab Moslem countries like the idea of the Pakistani Pashtuns who currently rule Iran, taking over the Moslem world, which is also the goal of Iran. Next they will come for Saudi Arabia. And they know it.
Really good article, BTW. Thank you.

(10)
Michal,
September 29, 2012 2:41 PM

I am not able to add something.
I agree with every word, you wrote.
It can't be said more clearly.

(9)
Yehudith Shraga,
September 28, 2012 1:57 AM

There is nothing wrong about Abundence, Luxury and Happiness

Bitakhon beHaShem is the kind of Secury we need to feel happy, no other kind of security is able to provide it to us.It is absolutly very common for the people through all the world to cry to the Creator when something goes wrong, BUT it isn't a real Love between the people and the Creator, the real Love is when we learn to see the Creator behind the luxury of our life, if somebody thinks that the poverty is the key to the connection with the Creator something is wrong with their understanding of the Purpose of the Creation,our Sages teach that the Ceator's only Wish is to bestow the Creation with all possible Good( including the material abundence!).There is nothing wrong in having beautiful houses, furniture, clothes, dishes,jewels the more the better, the air-conditioner is the Creator's blessing, as well as washing and dishwashing mashines, cars, trains, airplanes are all the Creator's Gifts to us,what really blinds us isn't the Luxury, but the lack of proper education,the education which gives us an ability to see Who stands behind all our Success,on the contrary -Poverty is not worth the Creator and is our big sin, because we are given endless potential, the problem is that we don't learn to use it in the right form.The bestowing form of existence is the only condition for us to be able to get all possible Good the Creator wishes to give us. The study of The Laws of the Creator for the sake of bestowing is the only recipe against spiritual blindness.There is nothing wrong in Luxury and nothing Noble in Poverty, the lack of spiritual education is the biggest wrong of all the humanity, as well as Humanity's Success in all the fields of the Life is the biggest Honer and Love of the humanity to the Creator, when one is in poverty and pain there is no wonder he is calling and praying to the Creator, when one is blessed with everything and still has the only Trust into the Creator it is a real Love.

(8)
Anonymous,
September 27, 2012 10:43 PM

great article!

Your article was very inspiring! Continue to write more.
a very inspiring article!

(7)
andrew,
September 27, 2012 9:12 PM

We must think about it

We are under G´D´s wings, ok. But remeber the same must have thinked our people at the holocaust time. The tragedy is forever in our hearts and minds.

yyitz,
September 30, 2012 9:32 PM

spoken like andrew

agree & disagree. chag sameach

(6)
Anonymous,
September 27, 2012 7:10 PM

Am Yisroel Chai! The Jews have always survived, no matter what the threat was. With faith in the Almighty, we'll get through this, too. There is no time like Succos to bring our true vulnerability home....
Thanks for a great article!

(5)
longeen,
September 27, 2012 6:51 PM

Love it!

Well said. I am not a Jew, although I know that He will never leave you, despite the US presidency.

(4)
Murray Cohen,
September 27, 2012 4:20 PM

U.S. President Obama has shown no interest in helping Israel but supports Islam. In fact when terrorists murdered four Americans in Libya, he along with the Secretary of State apologised to the Muslims for an individual who made a movie about Mohammed that they said caused the riot. What a poor response! An attack on an embassy is like an attack on the country. The Muslim world now knows that the U.S. President is a weak individual who supports them. In the election coming up, vote him out of office, just as another weak Democrat (Jimmy Carter) was voted out.

Raymond Kammies,
September 28, 2012 4:27 PM

I am a gentile from South África & a strong supporter of the state of Israel. Agree with you. The USA is becoming more and more pro-muslim. Just look at the pro-muslim programmes on CNN. Its actually becoming sickening in the way CNN reporters try to appease muslims, at the expense of Israel. Yet the USA leaders are so deceived, they dont even realise how much the USA is hated by South African muslims as well as the broader international muslim community.Is it going to take another 9/11 for their eyes to open?

Nanette,
September 30, 2012 6:08 PM

Many Americans still support Israel

We are sooo upset about the way Obama has handled our relationship with Israel and Netanyahu. I am voting for Romney. Our prayers are with you.

Rachel,
October 6, 2012 4:21 AM

I am a 26 yr old female Christian with eyes recently opened to the seriousness of this matter from a previous state of stagnant indifference. As a supporter of Israel, I will absolutely vote for Romney/anyone but Obama. I am outraged by his lack of compassion towards the embassy attacks and Israel. The story of Israel and the amazing journey of the Jewish people is enough proof to me that this is the real deal. G-d's way in combination with our decisions will make or break us (the US). I am SO upset with how the media and general public are so quick to be accommodating towards these extremists.... I am very confused with this backwards way of thinking. I almost feel that this response is due to lack of knowledge..I know for me, my indifference was due to lack of knowledge because of the amount of information available to discern, laziness, and a lot of pressure to think a "certain" way. Thank you for this article - it has definitely given me more faith.

(3)
Yehudith Shraga,
September 27, 2012 2:34 PM

Real Spirit of the People of Israel

Great article! It shows the importance of combining the Left Line-action,knowledge with the Right Line- Faith,Dareing and as kabbalaists teach us the Right Line should be ascended above the Left one.Faith above the Knowledge attitude always saved our nation, the article gives a clear understanding of the situation and teaches us that before we take actions we should learn what actions are useful-and the first to come is LEARNING the laws of the creation and following them, they are written in Torah,Gemmara,in the books of our Sages and Kabbalaists!!! Without proper Knowledge of the world around and the proper understanding of what actions are welcome in Heavens we may waste our time and a lot of energy getting nothing but rebukes of UN,USA and other sources which see us as a main problem of the Middle East, we have to learn ourselves first of all that the People of Israel, the Land of Israel and the Laws of living in the Land of Israel-Torah and the Creator are ONE, and there is no other way but to correct our ways and to become corresponding to the level of Spirit the Creator expects us to be.As the article rightly states, the clouds of A-bomb may be prevented only by making the Spirit of the People of Israel to rise to the levle of the Clouds of the Devine Presence and it is a piece of task much bigger than any political or social actions of public protests of people who write on their slogans-Let My People Go and forget to add the second part of the Torah statment-To SERVE ME !!! there is no half truth- or we are the People of the Creator or we are a tumor of the mankind(maligmant tumor is the amount of cells which lost their identity and funcional purpose and develop in choatic way bringing the whole organism to the death).

Yehudith Shraga,
September 28, 2012 2:35 AM

Let's grow up and face the Truth.

by Rav Yitzchok Adlerstain:
"We can imagine our world as somewhat similar to a large machine. If a child were to climb past the barriers and reach into the innards of the apparatus while it was operating, his arm would be mangled. Objecting to the owner of the machine that it is not fair that an innocent child should be hurt will be of no consequence. Neither the owner nor the machine can be told to look the other way. Nor would following that suggestion help the poor child. The machine operates blindly, without differentiating between one person and the next. There is nothing unfair about this. Nor should the owner be seen as the agent of the child’s loss. Similarly, Hashem created a world in which there are consequences to spiritual misconduct just as there are consequences to disobeying the constraints of physical laws.
Briefly, a firm, non-trivial consideration of Hashem as Creator creates the intellectual space in which we understand Hashem’s concern for the consequences of human actions, and His equipping the world with the capacity to reward and punish those actions"
We shouldn't sit and wait our verdict, BUT"lobby representatives in Congress, write op-ed pieces for local newspapers, and work to fight anti-Israel bias" sounds very childish. Behind the congress,local newspapaers and anti-israel bias we have to see The Creator who threatens us with the A-bomb for our spiritual illiteracy and disfunction, our presence in the Land of Israel as well as in this world IS NOT unconditional, we have our agreement with the Creator and we have to fulfill it, the fact that we have to be reminded of it with the help of A-bomb may not be blamed neither on the A-bomb nor on its Creator.

(2)
John Smith,
September 27, 2012 1:15 PM

An obvious thing to do would be to vote against Obama
There is no longer any logical reason for any American Jew to vote Democrat at all, let alone for one who has repeatedly snubbed Netanyahu and openly said he would side with the Muslims if things got ugly.

Christine Gavin,
September 27, 2012 10:08 PM

no john u just missed the whole point

Romney won't save u anymore than Obama. remember King David's census! Thats what got u into this mess.
Only look to Hashem. Into the sukkah boys!
Shalom.

My Christian friends are always speaking about “faith.” To me this sounds a lot like blind faith. Is that really the essence of religion?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

I'm afraid that this is another case of a Christian concept being mis-associated with Judaism.

Let's first define our terms. What is faith?

Webster defines faith as "Belief without proof."

What is knowledge? "An acquaintance with truth, facts or principles through study or investigation."

Faith is usually a product of desire. Have you ever gotten a tip on the market that guarantees you're going to triple your money in a month? A lot of smart people have gotten fleeced because they ignored the evidence and went with their feelings.

Knowledge, on the other hand, is based on evidence. We know there's a place called China because we have too many products in our house saying "made in China." There's a lot of evidence for the existence of China, even though most of us have never been there.

Judaism unequivocally comes down on the side of knowledge, not faith. In Deuteronomy 4:39, the Torah says: "You shall know this day, and understand it well in your heart, that the Almighty is God; in the heaven above and the earth below, there is none other." (This verse is also contained in the prayer, "Aleynu.")

This verse tells us that it is not enough to simply know in your head, intellectually, that God is the Controller of everything. You must know it in your heart! This knowledge is much more profound than an intellectual knowledge. God gave us a brain because he wants us to think rationally about the world, our role in it, and our relationship with God.

A conviction based on desire or feelings alone has no place in Judaism. The Hebrew word "emunah," which is often translated as faith, does not describe a conviction based on feelings or desire. It describes a conviction that is based on evidence.

Once this knowledge is internalized, it effects how a person lives. A person with this knowledge could transform every breathing moment into a mitzvah, for he would do everything for the sake of the heaven. But this is not a "knowledge," that comes easily. Only intensive Torah learning and doing mitzvahs can achieve this knowledge. Every word of Torah we learn moves us just a little bit closer to that goal. And everyone is capable of that.

To learn more, read "The Knowing Heart," by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Feldheim.com). This entire book is an explanation of this verse!

In 350 BCE, the building of the second Holy Temple was completed in Jerusalem, as recorded in the biblical Book of Ezra (6:15). The re-building of the Temple had begun under Cyrus when the Persians first took over the Babylonian empire. The re-building was then interrupted for 18 years, and resumed with the blessing of Darius II, the Persian king whom is said to be the son of Esther. The Second Temple lacked much of the glory of the First Temple: There was no Ark of the Covenant, and the daily miracles and prophets were no longer part of the scenery. The Second Temple would stand for 420 years, before being destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.

You shall know this day and consider it within your heart(Deuteronomy 4:39).

Business people who are involved in many transactions employ accountants to analyze their operations and to determine whether or not they are profitable. They may also seek the help of experts to determine which products are making money and which are losing. Such studies allow them to maximize their profits and minimize their losses. Without such data, they might be doing a great deal of business, but discover at the end of the year that their expenditures exceeded their earnings.

Sensible people give at least as much thought to the quality and achievement of their lives as they do to their businesses. Each asks himself, "Where am I going with my life? What am I doing that is of value? In what ways am I gaining and improving? And which practices should I increase, and which should I eliminate?"

Few people make such reckonings. Many of those that do, do so on their own, without consulting an expert's opinion. These same people would not think of being their own business analysts and accountants, and they readily pay large sums of money to engage highly qualified experts in these fields.

Jewish ethical works urge us to regularly undergo cheshbon hanefesh, a personal accounting. We would be foolish to approach this accounting of our very lives with any less seriousness than we do our business affairs. We should seek out the "spiritual C.P.A.s," those who have expertise in spiritual guidance, to help us in our analyses.

Today I shall...

look for competent guidance in doing a personal moral inventory and in planning my future.

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